The Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, has opened new facilities at Brazil’s Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), including two sectors of the University Hospital, the Central Library building, the Nursing Academic Building, and the Balsas Science Center.

The Ministry of Education invested R$216m ($44.11m) in the Full-Time School Program for the state.

These UFMA improvements aim to enhance educational infrastructure, providing modern laboratories, classrooms, and libraries, as well as common spaces for learning and research.

The University Hospital, managed by the Ministry of Education, received investments, with new units and renovations, aiming to provide more qualified and humanised care for patients in the Unified Health System.

In addition, the Central Library, the Nursing Academic Building, and the Balsas Science Center were inaugurated, representing investments in educational spaces and resources.

The University Hospital serves as a crucial practice scenario for UFMA, offering a range of consultations, surgeries, and imaging exams.

It is the only quaternary hospital in Maranhão, serving as a state reference centre for various medical procedures and organ transplants.

The overall goal is to create a conducive environment for academic and scientific progress in higher education.

Newly appointed rector Fernando Brandão said: “Today we celebrate not just physical structures, but the promise of a bright and promising future for our university and everyone who is part of it.

“I thank everyone involved and reaffirm the commitment to academic excellence, research, innovative extension and the training of professionals committed to the development of the state.”